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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 2003)
By State Rep. Betsy Johnson (District 31) Two days after the 2003 Oregon Legislature adjourned on Aug. 27, tax opponents launched a referendum drive to place the temporary income tax increase on a statewide ballot in hopes that voters will reject it and undo much of the Legis lature’s bipartisan negotiated compromise during the record-length session. House Bill 2152, adopted by the lawmakers and signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski last month, will enact a three-year income tax surcharge - a surcharge on existing tax liability - to balance the 2003-05 budget. The revenue package will raise $792 million in the current biennium, most- . ly from taxes paid by higher-income households and businesses in 2003 and 2004. It will raise another $332 million in the following biennium . from the same sources, if needed. The surtax will cost approximately $36 a year for a household with $41,000 income, which was the median level in Oregon in the 2000 Census. The median means half the households were below the income line and half were above. If you count the massive federal income tax cut, total income taxes in Oregon won’t increase - even with the planned surtax. (For a detailed tax table based on household income, visit my web site: www.betsyjohnson.com). A mixed coalition has gone on record in oppo sition to the tax increase package. Two conser vative political groups, the Oregon Chapter of Citizens for a Sound Economy and the Taxpay ers Association of Oregon, are trying to gather 50,420 valid signatures before the Nov. 25 dead line. If the referendum qualifies, it will appear on a Feb. 3 special election ballot. The revenue package enacted by the Legisla ture in House Bill 2152 is only a temporary solu tion to the state’s budget crisis. I supported it be cause it is a fair and balanced approach to re covering some of the revenues needed to keep schools open, keep our communities safe and maintain services for the elderly, the poor and the disabled. The state’s continuing economic crisis, which resulted in another $1 billion revenue drop dur ing this year’s session, eventually turned the talks to a temporary tax increase. After months of debate and negotiating, a temporary tax, sim ilar to one enacted during the financial crisis in the 1980s, appeared to be the inevitable solution to balancing Oregon’s state budget in the face of falling tax revenues. Moderate Republicans re solved the Legislature’s long budget stalemate by teaming up with Democrats, who are a mi nority in the House and control the governor’s of fice, to push the surcharge through. Here is why we believe this package is fair and balanced: Higher-income households will pay the largest share of individual taxes Individuals will pay more via an income tax surcharge and reduced discount for early pay ment of property taxes. But most (60 percent) of the increased taxes paid by individuals will come from households with incomes above $100,000 per year. Businesses will pay more Businesses will be required to pay more via new minimum taxes, the repeal of certain tax breaks and temporary reduction of tax credits. All told, businesses will pay 34 percent of the new taxes, compared to approximately 17 per cent of the state’s general fund taxes that they presently pay. Small business owners, including S-corps, partnerships and sole proprietors, will pay 12 percent. All families will see a reduction in overall federal and state taxes All households will see a reduction in their overall taxes due to new federal tax cuts. The new income tax surcharge is designed to work with the new reductions in federal income taxes to ensure that every Oregon taxpayer still gets a reduction in taxes paid overall. Oregon is caught in a downward fiscal spiral that threatens our economic future and our qual ity of life. We have learned through bitter experi ence that we will never regain our economic footing or begin to compete successfully in a fast-paced global economy with shorter school years, substandard services and courts open four days a week. We are facing a political crisis of trust in our tax system and an economic crisis of viability in our public service system. If we fail to achieve consensus on how to pay for the public services we need for a healthy economy and a livable society, we will never re gain our economic vitality and may soon lose our livable communities. The Legislature passed a measure to con vene a special legislative session on tax reform next June, after an interim panel drafts recom mendations on overhauling the state’s tax sys tem, which has come to rely heavily on revenues from personal and corporate income taxes. I sin cerely believe that the need for revenue-raising tax reform in our state is so great, and the con sequences of failure so dire, that we must keep an open mind about which of the many poten tially acceptable long-term options can succeed. We must also build a process to receive ideas from as many Oregonians as possible before charting a final course of action. The leaders of the referendum do not like to talk about how they would balance the budget if the tax surcharge is defeated, however, the ef fects must be considered. Defeat of the tax in creases would result in automatic budget cuts. To begin with, basic services - including educa tion, health care, public safety, seniors and work force training - will be seriously compromised. Not only will there be major cuts in public servic es, there will be a return to the discredited policy of emptying every reserve fund and mortgaging our state’s future through borrowing. Here’s where the $792 million in budget cuts would be made: K-12 schools - $414 million Human services - $273 million Public safety - $94 million Higher education - $11 million When someone asks you to sign the referen dum petition to repeal the income tax surcharge, ask them if they have an alternative plan for the state to “live within its means.” Ask them to be specific and do the math. If they can’t give you a real answer, I hope you will seriously consider your support or opposition. Rep, Betsy Johnson P.O. Box R, Scappoose, OR 97056 Phone: 503*543-4046 www.betsyjohnson.com ' X-., ; Don‘t sign petition to Thanks for help with harm our children school supply project To the Editor Some things are worth pay ing for. Our children, and their education should be of para mount importance to us all. Our schools are suffering. They are overcrowded and most certainly under funded. O ur Oregon Legislature worked overtime this year to try and put together a school fund ing package. The end result was still inadequate, but result ed in a temporary tax increase. Now someone wants to stop this funding altogether. They must hate schools since they are trying to circulate a petition to put an end to our schools tax support. Please don’t sign this peti tion. We need our schools and we need public education. O ur children deserve our support. Sincerely Thank you to Bank of Ameri ca, Rainier Branch for the do nation of $150.00 to the School Supply project in 2003. Your donation enabled us to purchase several needed sup plies, which will be shared by all five of our School Districts, for students who are unable to afford the necessary school supplies to begin school ready to learn. Your generosity is appreciat ed and will make the first day of school a positive experience for many young people throughout Columbia County. By working together we can help change a lives in our com munities. Sincerely, Kathye Beck Executive Director United Way of Columbia County Bill Eagle St. Helens Nice example of courtesy by public official Ed. Note: The INDEPENDENT does not consider itself a partner (see let ter below) with the legislature, simply an observer, insofar as our small staff allows, and occasional commentator. The reason for publishing the following letter is to use it as a far too rare example of courtesy by a pub lic official toward a part of its constituency that m ay not be supportive, and may even be critical at times. Such courtesy on the part o f local officials would have alleviated, if not eliminated, the controversy that is currently causing discord in Vernonia. Dear Members of the Media, I want to thank you for your contribution to the 2003 General Legislative Session. You in the media are our partners in the Leg islature, keeping the public informed of what we do in the Capitol and explaining how it affects Oregonians. It was a difficult time for all involved with and in the Legislature. Though history will ultimately decide how we did, your chronicling of the events will undoubtedly play an important role in how we view our accomplishments and regrets. Many significant and good pieces of legislation were passed and will become law. It took team work to make this happen and you were part of that team. You played your role well and we are better legislators for having worked with you. Thanks for hanging in there and enduring what was a chal lenging legislative session. Respectfully, Peter Courtney President of the Senate — NOTICE — The INDEPENDENT is published on the first and third Thurs days of each month. There are five Thursdays in October, so there will be three weeks between the issue of October 16 and the issue of November 6. To provide some break time for our staff, the office will be closed from October 22 through October 27. Messages may be left via fax or voice mail at 503-429-9410, or by e-mail to noni@vernonia.com or clark@vernonia.com Deadline for the issue of November 6 will be October 31.
